Trainline (LON: TRN), the rail and coach ticketing platform, said in a trading update earlier today that it will launch a new £100m share buyback once its existing £150m programme completes, even as first-half sales stayed flat and a competition probe continues.
Trainline shares stood at 190p in pre-market trading, up from Thursday’s close of 186.5p, though the market had not yet opened for regular trading. The stock remains well below its 307.6p 52-week high, having fallen roughly 38% from that level, and sits closer to its 178p 52-week low.
Trainline reconfirmed its full-year targets, guiding to group net ticket sales of £6.2bn-£6.45bn, underlying revenue of £440m-£455m, and an adjusted EBITDA margin, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation as a share of sales, of about 2.9%. Chief executive Jody Ford said: “Our confidence is reflected in the announcement today of a new £100 million share buyback programme.”
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The buyback detail underlines that confidence: since September 2023 Trainline has bought back and cancelled £350m of stock, about 28% of its issued share capital, and the new £100m programme extends that run over the next 12 months. It follows a first half in which group net ticket sales held flat at £3,263m and underlying revenue slipped 1% to £233m, with UK Consumer revenue down 5% to £102m after an April refund-policy change, and international ticket sales down 4% to £579m amid softer demand linked to Spanish rail-accident sentiment and Middle East-related travel disruption.
The update also carries an unresolved risk: the Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation on 19 August into how Trainline presents certain UK booking fees, which Trainline says is at an early stage with no quantifiable financial impact yet. The company reports half-year results on 4 November.
